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It Ain't Hard To Tell Lyrics
It ain't hard to tell, I excel, then prevail
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper's breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin', sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express through song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell
The buddha monk's in your trunk, turn the bass up
Not stories by Aesop, place your loot up, parties I shoot up
Nas, I analyze, drop a jew-el, inhale from the L
School a fool well, you feel it like braille
It ain't hard to tell, I kick a skill like Shaquille holds a pill
Vocabulary spills I'm +Ill+
plus +Matic+, I freak beats slam it like Iron Shiek
Jam like a tech with correct techniques
So analyze me, surprise me, but can't magmatize me
Scannin while you're plannin ways to sabotage me
I leave em froze like her-on in your nose
Nas'll rock well, it ain't hard to tell
This rhythmatic explosion, is what your frame of mind has chosen
I'll leave your brain stimulated, niggaz is frozen
Speak with criminal slang, begin like a violin
End like Leviathan, it's deep well let me try again
Wisdom be leakin out my grapefruit troop
I dominate break loops, givin mics men-e-straul cycles
Street's disciple, I rock beats that's mega trifle
And groovy but smoother than moves by Villanova
You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra
Packin like a rasta in the weed spot
Vocals'll squeeze glocks, MC's eavesdrop
Though they need not to sneak
My poetry's deep, I never fell
Nas's raps should be locked in a cell
It ain't hard to tell
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper's breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin', sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express through song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell
Not stories by Aesop, place your loot up, parties I shoot up
Nas, I analyze, drop a jew-el, inhale from the L
School a fool well, you feel it like braille
It ain't hard to tell, I kick a skill like Shaquille holds a pill
Vocabulary spills I'm +Ill+
plus +Matic+, I freak beats slam it like Iron Shiek
Jam like a tech with correct techniques
So analyze me, surprise me, but can't magmatize me
Scannin while you're plannin ways to sabotage me
I leave em froze like her-on in your nose
Nas'll rock well, it ain't hard to tell
I'll leave your brain stimulated, niggaz is frozen
Speak with criminal slang, begin like a violin
End like Leviathan, it's deep well let me try again
Wisdom be leakin out my grapefruit troop
I dominate break loops, givin mics men-e-straul cycles
Street's disciple, I rock beats that's mega trifle
And groovy but smoother than moves by Villanova
You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra
Packin like a rasta in the weed spot
Vocals'll squeeze glocks, MC's eavesdrop
Though they need not to sneak
My poetry's deep, I never fell
Nas's raps should be locked in a cell
It ain't hard to tell
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The most exciting song off Illmatic, with human wailing production that sends chills down my spine. Nas, the school dropout and drug seller, combines poetry and rap so well the lines are blurred. His weed smoking is fact, of course, and though he probably held weapons I'm pretty sure he didn't shoot up parties. "Breathin' the sniper's breath"...this is Nas showing off his warrior side: he is an officer, with fierce and combative rhymes, and a gentleman, with intellect (afrocentricism, Hobbes). Both sides of the coin are blurred together, as if it has been spun into a speheric motion to the urgent, dramtic beat. Classic, grimy hip-hop from Queensbridge NYC, the largest housing project in the United States.
The line about giving shotguns in hell is probably my favourite line in all of music history, and I never knew what it meant until someone broke it down for me on a youtube comment. It truly shows Nas' lyrical skill.
A shotgun is when you blow the blunt smoke from your mouth into someone else's mouth. Medusa was a fictional character that could turn you into stone if you looked at her. So what he is saying when he says "I drink moets with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell..." is that he is so sick that he can not only get high and drunk with Medusa without getting turned to stone, but also that he kind of flips the script and gets medusa stoned by giving her shotguns.
Only certain individuals will understand the meaning.
is there any other rapper, never mind gansta rapper, who would throw a hobbes reference? and the ill combination of wordz that no other rapper could ever possibly concieve...sneak an uzi on the island in my army jacket lining....this was the pinnacle of midern hip hop in my opinion, its all downhill compared 2 this
yeah me too. this is one of the greatest hip-hop songs in history and he did it without using profanity (not that swearing is a bad thing but that's pretty impressive). one question though: is the line about giving medusa shotguns in hell a reference to Dante's Inferno?
one of the best hip hop songs ever, in my opinion.
this is just braggadocio rapping 101. simple as that. you could write a million songs and never come off as dope as this. beautiful
I can rap every verse in this song by heart.
Good song.
What does it mean when he says "I kick a skill like Shaquille holds a pill"? Shaq O'Neal is an NBA player, but what does this mean?